Assassin’s Creed II Short Film Contest

[ENGLISH] IFCTV tells us: SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, and IFC (The Independent Film Channel), announced the launch of the short film contest “Live by the Creed Challenge,” inspired by the Assassin’s Creed® II video game, due out on November 17, 2009.  The contest is part of IFC’s Media Lab (www.ifc.com/media-lab), an independent film studio which supports content development, financing and distribution opportunities for up-and-coming filmmakers.

One grand-prize winner and two second-place winners will be selected. The winning films will air on IFC in November. Film director/writer Ti West (The House of the Devil, October 2009) has signed on to judge the contest.

“This contest challenges aspiring film artists in a really unique way, giving them a great opportunity to develop their individual creative methods and showcase their work to a national audience,” said Ti West. “Challenges like this give filmmakers a rich, creative opportunity to improve their skills.”

Entries will be accepted starting today through November 1. Everyone from filmmakers to video game fans and media arts aficionados are encouraged to submit their short film of six minutes or less at: www.ifc.com/media-lab. Qualifying films must contain at least three of the seven themes that closely tie to the Assassin’s Creed II story, location and action. The themes include:

§         Assassin/Assassination

§         Revenge

§         Hidden blade/hidden weapon

§         Italy/Italian Renaissance

§         Unique gadgets/tools

§         Family

§         Conspiracy

Filmmakers may also consider spotlighting additional themes featured in the game, including: money/greed; Leonardo da Vinci; fighting/hand-to-hand combat; and parkour/escape.

Finalists will be selected by a panel of IFC and Ubisoft judges along with film director Ti West and key members of the Assassin’s Creed II development team.  The grand prize winner will receive $10,000, a PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Assassin’s Creed II video game. The second-place winners will each receive $2,500, a PlayStation 3 entertainment system and the video game. In addition, the winning short films will air on IFC in November to coincide with the launch of the game.

“Assassin’s Creed II has such a rich story, cinematic look and a new character. We’re excited to see the film entries to see different interpretations, viewpoints and stories while still being true to the themes and context of the Assassin’s Creed II video game,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. “This is our second short film contest with IFC and the Assassin’s Creed brand, and we were really pleased with the results of the first campaign. We are thrilled to partner with them again, and that director Ti West is onboard to be a guest judge along with key members of our Assassin’s Creed II dev team.”

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has captured a strong and passionate following worldwide and the Assassin’s Creed II short film contest is an opportunity for fans and others to delve into the story and themes of what will be one of the biggest games of 2009.

« The success of IFC’s initial partnership with Ubisoft to support the launch of Assassin’s Creed paved the way for us to work together again.  IFC’s viewers are huge gaming fans so this is a natural fit for our brand and the network’s Media Lab initiative, which empowers young filmmakers to create innovative work,” stated Lee Sparer, vice president, partnerships, IFC and Sundance Channel. “We are especially thrilled that director Ti West will lend his expertise to this challenge, a great motivator for the next generation of filmmakers.”

Director Ti West is one of the hottest, up-and-coming horror filmmakers on the scene today.  His next film, “The House of the Devil,” was picked up by Magnolia Pictures with a planned release on Halloween this year. He has also created and directed the five-episode online series “Dead and Lonely” for IFC.com, debuting in October. The series is a comedic twist on a classic vampire love story set in the modern internet dating age.

For more information about the contest, rules and regulations and contest guidelines, please visit: www.ifc.com/media-lab.

About Assassin’s Creed II

Assassin’s Creed® II is the follow-up to the title that became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history. The highly anticipated title features a new hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble, and a new era, the Renaissance. Assassin’s Creed II is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence’s most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.

Assassin’s Creed II will be available in North America at the MSRP of $59.99 with the Limited Edition priced at $79.99 – ESRB rating is pending. For more information, please visit www.assassinscreed.com.

About Ubisoft:

Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft is present in 28 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2008–09 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of 1.058 billion euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

About IFC

Operating under the mantra « always, uncut, » IFC (The Independent Film Channel) recommends and creates genre-bending content that indulges the alternative culture obsessions of our influential audience and makes it available across multiple platforms: on-air, online and On Demand.  In pursuit of what’s new, next and relevant, IFC creates original non-traditional comedies like The Whitest Kids U’ Know and Z Rock and irreverent non-fiction such as The IFC Media Project.  IFC’s original programming airs alongside a comprehensive independent film library of award-winning titles and cult classics, as well as content inspired by music, web, gaming, animation, news, culture and more.  IFC broadens the audience for independent culture through its exclusive live coverage of notable film and music events like the Independent Spirit Awards and South by Southwest.  The network’s On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of IFC’s original series.  IFC Media Lab Studios offers financing, professional development and distribution opportunities for aspiring film makers.  IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

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